30 Courtiers

You find yourself brought to the Great Lord’s Court after completing your assignment. Thanks are given. You are invited to the festivities later that day. Court is adjourned and you are now trapped in a room with numerous courtiers ....

1- The Scribe of the Law
He is a surprisingly young man of fair looks. He is dressed simply when compared to others of the Court. His look is quiet intense and he has a memory for everything said around him or read. He is quite shy and has a slight stammer if surprised, stressed, or dealing with a pretty woman. If he did not spend so much time with his scrolls, he would be an effective courtier.

2- Master of the Coin
He is the High Lord’s treasurer, and responsible for taxation as well. He is a very calm man with an exceptionally keen mind. Other than an overabundance of gold jewelry, his dress is unremarkable. He can be quite pleasant in a banal sort of way.

3- The Peacock
This courtier has some noble blood, but little to no real estate. He is the exceptionally well dressed and vain. His voice is a touch too high for comfort. He seems to pursue women overly hard, without much success.. it makes one think he might swing the other way.

4- The Loud One
He is the High Lord’s Cousin. He is a big man full of life and a voice that at a whisper can be heard across the room. He has a dislike for the Peacock who he thinks is a bit too effeminate to be a real man.

5- The Serious One
She is the Widow of one of the important vassals and holds regency for her young son. She is sharp as a whip and just as “friendly”. Analytical, careful, and never frivolous (except after too many glasses of wine… a vice she only occasionally indulges), she is on the Grand Lord’s small council.

6- The Religious One
The noble’s answer to most problems is to “Pray for Guidance in the matter” and “wait for the God’s to deliver us”. He still dresses like a courtier, but always wears a conspicuous holy item or two.

7- The Untrustworthy One
He is the local Lord of Vice - a title some people actually use. He is a wicked man with corrupting appetites; owning most of the Brothels, Seedy Bars, and Gambling Dens in the Region. He uses his position at court to avoid “trouble” because of these places. He captures many an unwary lordling in his snares, blackmailing them with their momentary indiscretions. He is the King’s opposition. The schemer who looks to advance his position with corruption and blackmail. He has the Peacock and The Sycophant in his back pocket.

Actually, he is the most loyal person to the Grand Lord, being the Lord of Whispers (Intelligencers/ Spies). He does all the “dirty work” and intrigue so the Grand Lord can rule. He is in a public feud with the August Noble. It originally started as a “pose”, but he now suspects the August Noble is not really what he seems.

8- The Officious One
His narrow face drawn to a perpetual scowl, this man talks down to everyone. He stands ramrod straight and dresses impeccably. He is the stickler for rules, protocols, and traditions. He will go along with anything that has precedent. He and the Herald seem to keep each others company a great deal.

9- Mistress of the Dance
She is the social butterfly of the court. She works to plan every dance, dinner, and affair. While of noble line, she has a place at court only because she works for the Seneschal. She is currently shopping for a rich noble husband and is often a mistress for one noble or another.

10- The Warrior Born
This man comes from a long and proud lines of warriors. While not the most physically scary fighter, he is a master of the war crafts, including strategy, tactics, military history, and siegecraft. He often just disarms opponents when fighting.

11-12 Lord and Lady of the Marriage
This lusty lord and fun wife have nine daughters and a son to marry off. (At one time or another, about half the kids will be at court with them.) If he can’t arrange a marriage for his children, he will try to arrange a marriage for every single person in the court.

13- The Widower
This man is deeply in the black for his lovely lost wife. He is morose and depressing. While he hates all this activity, his sense of duty to the High Lord keeps him at court attending to various administrative duties.

14- Pretentious One
The Lordling likes to throw his titles around. Unfortunately, he is amongst peerage here… He often goes down to the common areas to abuse little people.

15- Idealist
This courtier is the one always proposing “new ideas”. Many of these “new ideas” are totally half baked and will never work, but he keeps pushing innovation and “new thinking”. He likes anything new it seems. The Religious One and Officious One work against him at every turn, both socially and politically.

16- The Quiet Power Broker
He listens. He sits and appears to think, one hand rubbing his bearded jaw. He does not speak often, but when he does people listen. He is the most politically astute man in court. He even has deduced the Lord of Vice is the Great Lord’s right hand Lord of Whispers. He knows how to get people to do what is “right”, who to talk to that will do something to cause someone else to do what he wants.

17-18 Opposing Brothers
Due to marriage, one brother is now in the next land over. The two brothers now fight over everything.

19- The Sycophant
He is actually an amateur schemer, thinking he is manipulating others with his fawning attentions. He is really a joke about the court and a pawn to real power players.

20- The Young One
This poor lost lamb was not ready for court. He lost his parents tragically. His lands are very important to the realms. He has to take on these responsibilities early. He is the pawn in a number of schemes.

21- The Curmudgeon
An ill-tempered person full of resentment and stubborn notions. He hates the Idealist on general principal. He does have a soft spot for the Young One. He may be the kids only trusted ally

22- The August Noble
This most august noble seems to be the “perfect noble”. He is gracious, politic, and proper. He works for the Good of the realm. He is recent to the Great Lord’s small council. Most assume he is just the “Best of Men” and praise him as such. In truth, it is a pose. The man is a greedy, manipulative, bastard. However, he is planning long term. He is getting into the graces of the nobility and little folk, so he can implement his own plans.

23-25 Blue Lord
This lord, and his lady, and his servants and children, are all kept in his proper heraldic colors. He is of middling importance to the realm as his estates include some needed resources.

26- The High Priest
This worldly priest is the High Lord’s personal religious consultant. He is just a seat below the Head of the Local religion. While he seems worldly, the man is a master of logic and theology. He always placates The Religious One, though he finds him a tad dull and annoying.

27- The Rich Merchant
This pleasantly plump man is the richest merchant in the region. He has parlayed his wealth into a position of power in the region. He spends much of his time at court now, even though he is not noble. The High Lord spends time seeking his advice.

28- The Rustic
This noble is from the “hinterlands” of the region. He is a bit out of date and not every courtly. He is however an expert huntsman, tracker, and shot/ bowman.

29- Herald
A man of middling age and very proper dress. He keeps track of bloodlines, marriages, births, deaths, and all noble lines in the region. He is in charge of dozens of loud voiced boys who he trains in proper ettiquite and protocol, as well as heraldry.

30- Seneschal
The Seneschal has served two kings now, and might still serve a third. This old man knows the ins and out of the Castle, Court, and Kingdom. He actually controls the flow of money and messages in and out of the Castle. Some say he is the Master of Whispers, but that is just a rumor that seems never to go away.

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This is useful in different scales. These courtiers can be placed as part of a huge imperial court (with dozens or even hundreds of their own hangers-on) or in a baron's court with these courtiers as landed gentry rather than nobles in their own right. This sub is also useful with different campaign themes. For example, the Lord of Vice can be the token sneaky sort who is really a nice guy & completely loyal to the Throne (as Sir Nicholas Fury in Marvel 1602), or at the other end of the scale, even the Idealist could have his own dark agenda & secrets.

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A young girl with a dirty face and tattered dress stands near the town market offering to sell the PCs freshly cut flowers. They are only a single copper a piece, and smell nice. Perhaps the PCs will be generous with their wealth, or they will not. Great for paranoid parties.